The Day The Earth Moved Forward
by Boltzmann
Summary: It was a normal night, until they showed up. Claiming to be androids from the far future of 11945, we assumed they were either crazy or joking. Sadly, they weren't, and we were thrust into a rabbit hole of insanity. It was up to us to acclimate them to our world, but how are we supposed do to that when we can't even convince them to leave the house without their swords?
1. Chapter 1

**Co-Author: Recycler**

* * *

We were partying that night, when we met them.

It was pretty average for the five of us, what with the normal club scene, hip-hop playing as people raved. It wasn't too spectacular, but we were all piss poor drunk (except for Rodney, since that guy has a stick up his ass when it comes to partying), and alcohol does wonders when it comes to making the ordinary seem extraordinary, and the extraordinary seem fucking prophetic.

My sister Jane loves the spotlight of a night club. She always had a dream of being a DJ, even when she was a kid. When she was eight, instead of being obsessed with Disney princesses or ponies, she was obsessed with the recent mixtapes of the hottest artists. Even now she was controlling the dance floor with her style as 80's techno music blared from the speakers.

Her best friend Kristin was almost her exact opposite, more of a book nerd than anything. Don't get me wrong, just because she was nerdy didn't mean she didn't know how to party, 'cause she knew how to better than most. She just preferred a good book over loud music, not that I'd ever blame her for that. She was near the bar having what was probably a surprisingly decent conversation with a guy who seemed equally interested in her.

My roommate from college, John, was a huge lady's guy. Well, he liked to think he was, anyway. He came from a family of soldiers, with his dad being a four star general in the Army, so he was always jokingly called a military brat, even though he looked more like that kid in high school who tried being with the cool kids despite no one liking him. We like him though, he was chill and didn't try too hard to be cool. He was currently standing near some pretty-looking college girls, who seemed to be giving him attention out of pity more than anything. Someday, dude.

Next to last was Rodney, the self-described prude who didn't drink/smoke/vape/hook up on first dates/anything fun ever. He was always kind of smug about how he was the healthiest guy in our circle of friends, owing his success to his abstinence from doing all the things his parents told him were bad as a kid. That didn't stop him from being a pretty nice guy once you got to know him first, the problem was just, y'know, getting to know him first.

Me? Well, I'm Jack. I'm down for whatever, honestly. That actually got me the title 'Jack of All

Trades' in high school. I got pretty good marks in almost every class I took, nothing really extraordinary, but nothing remotely bad either. Because of this, I had no real specialty. I was with Rodney (lucky me) and we were talking about what we planned to do after the club, though given how late it was it seemed like nothing but the four of them crashing at my place for the night was an option.

Anyways, we left the club a few hours later at around three in the morning, laughing like a bunch of drunkards - oh wait, that's exactly what we were - talking about our night like it was the awesomest night ever, as John and Jane would put it.

"God, did you guys even SEE me on that dancefloor? I must've busted some fierce fuckin' moves up there!" Jane slurred excitedly. I rolled my eyes, gurgling an uninterested response. Even so, I was pretty glad she had fun. Call me sappy, but even if she could be an annoying little sister, I liked it when she had fun.

"There was this guy and we were talking and he was so nice and he gave me his number! I just… gotta find it…" Kristin began digging through her purse as we kept walking, Rodney helping her along so she didn't trip and fall.

"Lucky you - those two girls said they were gonna wait for me while I took a crap, and when I came back they left!" John whined.

"Probably because you told them you were gonna take a crap," Rodney chided, stone-cold sober bastard he was.

"Hey, go easy on the guy, it's not his fault he's legally obligated to be forever alone!" Everyone (sans John) laughed at my shitty joke as we walked towards the car.

We found the car… With three - what we assumed to be - weird cosplaying teenagers inside. It wasn't unusual to find one or two teens in the area late at night, as there was a housing community not to far from here, but how three managed to not only break into Rodney's car without a sign of intrusion, without anyone in the parking lot seeing? That was what made the sight so weird.

I should've known it would lead to yet weirder things, but I was so tipsy all I could do was chuckle stupidly. The others, minus Rodney, fell into the contagious laughing syndrome. Rodney ignored us laughing at his expense and looked between the car and us. "What the hell guys?! Come on and help me get rid of them!"

John was the first to fall out of our giggle hype, his breath heavy. "M-Maybe we should ask them for a picture! Oh! Oh! Can we take them home?! It'd be a blast!"

"Wha- No! Of course not dumbass!" Rodney groaned, pulling at his pristine auburn hair. "Fuck it, Jack come back me up!" I nodded, mostly to get him to stop yelling. As he turned I mocked his actions as I followed him, making the others fall into another laughing fit. Meanwhile Rodney was furiously knocking on the car's window, trying to get the delinquents' attention.

"Hey! HEY! Get the fuck outta my car you little shits! I don't know how you got in there, but you'd better-"

The three teens apparently didn't appreciate being screamed at, since the two girls in the group kicked one of his doors off the car and sent it flying, then jumped out, each with a fucking katana in their hands pointed at Rodney, who had very reasonably shrieked like a little girl and fell on his ass. We may have been drunk, but we knew something had gone horribly wrong then, and we all shut up.

John, the idiot he is, said, "D-Did you guys see that?" I wanted to say blurt out 'no fucking shit', but I just nodded dumbly. The two girls, or at least the one with long hair, looked us over, a scowl forming on both their faces.

Rodney just sputtered, backing up slightly. Sweat trickled down his brow and he shakily pulled out his wallet, holding it out to the two girls with his other hand up. "T-Take it and leave! W-We don't want any trouble!" I stumbled forward, picking him up off the ground and pulling him back carefully.

"Yeah," I slurred. I felt the fuzzy haze of intoxication slowly slip away as the shock woke me up, causing me to nearly vomit. I held it in, luckily; I doubt these people would appreciate nasty green on their white and black outfits. "Just please don't hurt us."

The two girls - now joined by a boy - all looked at each other and spoke in a strange language. It was nothing like I've ever heard, and I've heard most languages used in first world countries. It sounded somewhat like Japanese or Korean, though.

The smaller girl - who for whatever reason could see through the blindfold over her eyes - had apparently had enough and was about to pounce, but the lone boy said something to her, forcing her to freeze midstep.

It was kind of unnatural, her ability to pause in such an angle, but it wasn't the weirdest thing. She looked down, then up, before putting her sword back. She didn't seem angry anymore, instead her attitude was almost apprehensive. Maybe the boy could understand us?

"Hey, you," Jane pointed towards him, having seemingly gotten the same conclusion as I did. "If you go, we'll forget all this happened, okay? We don't want anyone to get hurt." Which was pretty much saying we don't want you to hurt us, since there was fuck all we could do to them. Sure we had the numbers, but they had friggin' ninja swords.

He simply tilted his head and turned around, his voice indicating he was talking to someone else we couldn't see.

Not even a second later, two small box things floated out of the car. That's when it hit me - these aren't teenagers, or normal people.

I didn't know what they were to be honest, but they managed to make most of us almost piss ourselves. I wish I was joking. The two robots floated around and peered at each other, before speaking in voices that surprised no one. "Introduction: Greetings, humans. I am Pod-042, that is Pod-153." The white 'Pod' bobbed towards the black 'Pod'.

Behind me, Jane squeaked.

"W-... What?" Kristin managed to stutter. The rest of us stared on in a trance.

"Oh my god this is just like the movies!" Except for John, who's special.

"Repeat: Greetings, humans-"

"What the absolute fuck is going on?!" Rodney spoke up, his patience clearly at a solid minus fifty at this point.

The boy stepped forward tentatively, his eyes flickering back and forth as he removed his blindfold. He spoke up, his words far different than that of the Pods. Even in my slightly drunken state I attempted to focus on their language, trying to decipher the words for any that were recognizable.

It didn't work.

"Analysis: There is a distinct language barrier between our charges and the humans before us," The dark box spoke up, its voice more female than its partner's. "Hypothesis: This is due to us coming from a separate timeline where the Japanese language evolved over thousands of years into an entirely separate language. Proposal: For reference, imagine a man speaking modern Arabic attempting to communicate with a man speaking ancient Sumerian and you will understand the current issue."

"What the fuck…" I mumbled, my head feeling dizzy, and not from the alcohol. "We should believe this bullshit?"

"I do not recall Pod-153 asking you to have faith in the feces of an endangered animal-"

"Hypothesis: I believe he is implying we are lying to them, Pod-042." The female Pod, if you could call it female, turned towards us once again. "We come from the year 11945, where humanity is extinct and the world has been taken over by alien machines."

The three white haired people, who I'd somehow completely forgotten about until now, stepped forward. The blindfolded girl looked towards the white Pod, her voice coming out normally. If humans were extinct where they came from, what was with these kids then?

Unless…

"Of course," Pod-042 said. "Introduction: I have neglected to introduce you to YoRHa No. 2 Type B, YoRHa No. 9 Type S, and YoRHa Type A No. 2, respectively. For future convenience, you may refer to them as 2B, 9S, and A2.

"They lack the information on the English language that we Pods possess, so we will have to upload it to their databases as soon as possible."

Jane looked between the three, her eyes clenched shut in what was probably painful concentration. "Databases? Humans don't have databases…" She mumbled, but clearly the Pods heard.

They bobbed their bodies in what was seemingly a nod. "Correct. Explanation: As one may most likely deduce from their names, these three are androids. Humanoid machines once designed for defeating the alien menace for humanity."

The world seemed to pause as I gasped, the sudden intake of air causing me to hack. After recovering, I slowly rise up, my eyes wide and shocked. "Androids?!" We all seemed to shout in unison, which would usually cause us to look at each other and snap finger guns, but could only prove we all heard it right.

"Yes."

I shook my head, groaning as I pressed two fingers to my temple. "Hold on… I need some serious proof, because this is completely insane! I'm tempted to just call the cops and get those three arrested for this crap."

The Pods turned around and spoke to the three supposed 'Androids'. The one with long hair nodded and stepped forward, her body being revealed in full. It was pretty attractive, I'll be the first to admit, and the skintight suit only accentuated her form. She held her hand out, clearly intended for me to take. I stared at it for a while until Pod-042 spoke up.

"Reassurance: She does not mean you any harm. It was her duty to protect and serve humanity. Please, take A2's hand." I reluctantly did as told. Her hand was cold to the touch, far colder than the cool night air. She didn't look at all sick, especially if the previous display of kicking off the car door was any indication.

"Oh my God…" I muttered, my eyes wide. "Y-You're androids…"

"Hold on," Kristin spoke up. "You're saying they're telling the truth? But that can't be possible!"

"Not impossible, merely improbable. Hypothesis: Reading the data from the last 24 hours, we must have encountered a sudden and intense influx of quantum fluctuations capable of transporting myself, Pod-153, 9S, 2B, and A2 to this exact location in a separate universe.

"Proposal: Nothing is impossible, as even the most improbable scenario can happen given enough time, space, and potential outcomes." The white Pod said. Everyone just looked confused, except for the only sober one.

Rodney, being the only one to really grasp whatever that shit meant, shook his head in disbelief.

"Fuck… Okay, so we have some theoretical physics going on here, mixed in with robots from an apocalyptic Earth. Cool, so if nothing is impossible, then there's hope for you yet John." There was no real humor behind those words, the joke being said just as an escape from the rabbit hole we fell into.

"Can we go home and talk about this? I think John needs some rest…" Jane quietly piped up. We looked over near her and saw the poor guy flat on the ground in a daze.

"Well…" I looked over towards the five machines, my teeth gnawing on my bottom lip. "How are we going to fit three more people inside Rodney's car?"

I would soon come to regret asking such a question.

* * *

 **Yep, new story. Why? 'Cause I can. It was supposed to be after 30k words in EGDS... But Recycler and I wanted to post it as soon as we got done with it. Oops?**

 **It's a NieR: Automata story, clearly. I think it's a great game, despite me being relatively new to it (Recycler is my wiki), so I hope I can do it justice. I'm not keen on OCs, but this idea was too good to pass up, so I took it. It's about our three favorite androids popping up in modern day Earth after Ending E, but I'll try to keep it as spoiless as possible. It's gonna have some though, sorry in advance.**

 **This will be my second priority, with Everybody's Gotta Die Sometime being my top. So don't worry if you're a fan of that one.**

 **Anyways, favorite, follow, and review! Reviews inspire my soul and keeps me from death's door. So give me all you have, even if it's full of criticisms.**

 **I bid you all adieu.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Co-Author: Recycler**

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"So…" I looked around the room. My eyes roamed across the faces of Rodney, Kristen, John, and my brother Jack. He was talking to the black Pod, 153 I think. Rodney was conversing with the white Pod, or 042. I'll probably just refer to them as Black and White; it'll be easier for my already exhausted brain.

We had gotten back from the club late last night - we had to ditch Rodney's poor Tesla, it wouldn't have fit us all - and I called in a favor from some guy that had a crush on me. Luckily he had a retired school bus that could fit us all no problem, so it definitely worked out.

Though now I had to go on a date with him…

My head perked up when Jack stood up with a weary expression. "Alright, so 153 and I were talking. She says we can ask any question we want as well as, uh," He clearly felt awkward with what he was going to say next, which was strange. Jack was not the kind of guy to get shy. "Order them around," he finished. Oh, yeah that calls for some awkwardness.

"Confirmation: That is correct, sir. All we ask in return is that 9S, 2B and A2 stay with you five until they are fit to live on their own." Rodney nodded, his conversation with White coming to an end.

He said, "Yep. I can't say I like the idea too much, but I don't see any other alternative. Plus they could repay me for my damn car…" He mumbled, even though it went ignored.

"We could, you know, tell the government or some science institution," John piped up his two cents, which got him a few sideways looks from Jack and Rodney. Kristin and I just shrugged in response. I didn't see a problem with it.

"Hypothesis: If the local government or an independent institution were to acquire the advanced technology inside of us, they would surely use us for their own political gain. Under the best circumstances, dissection and analysis are a definitive. Our records are currently imperfect, however we have a relatively average grasp on how humans would react to highly advanced technology. The atomic weapons dropped on Japan are a perfect example." White floated towards 2B, said girl looking over the room.

Her 'visor', as they called it, (though to us it looked like an ordinary blindfold) was currently discarded, resting on the seat beside her. I felt slightly envious at her eyes as they were something any self-appreciating woman would desire. I pushed down the jealousy and instead opened my mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the boy sitting next to Rodney.

"I think it would be best if we stayed with you five, if that's the case…" All five of us stared at him in shock. We probably looked stupid with our mouths open like they were, but I was too stunned to care about my appearance at the moment. "What?" He tilted his head.

"You can talk?" Kristin asked, her voice displaying the shock just as well as her face. "Since when? Who can learn English in just a single night?"

"Explanation: We updated their language database to accommodate the English language as well as Spanish, French, German, and Mandarin. It took quite a while to upload it all, but they are now at least as informed as a college student on the aforementioned languages," Black answered, the three androids nodding along.

"Well that makes things easier… Mind if we start asking questions, then?" Jack asked.

"Yes, you can ask us whatever you'd like," 2B replied, her voice not as emotionless as I expected it to be. Then again, 9S had a voice full of emotion, so I guess it's not like they'd all sound like Siri or Cortana. Though it was kind of cold, come to think of it.

"I would be more than happy to answer your questions!" 9S responded next. I smiled a bit, soaking in his enthusiasm. He was clearly the most human of the bunch, which made him the easiest to get used to.

A2 sighed, nodding. "I don't see why not." Her voice was lighter than 2B's, but it was definitely a little more, for a lack of a better word, sassy. These three were definitely an interesting group.

"Okay…" Jack looked around, trying to find someone but him to kick things off, but seeing as we were all looking at him, he gave up and sighed. "Guess I'll go first. Why were you three built and what do your names stand for?"

"Well," 2B looked over at him. "I am YoRHa No. 2 Type B. I was created primarily for battle, hence the letter B."

"Battle against what?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

"Against alien machines." She scowled, clearly unhappy with the mention of that topic. I briefly recalled the Pods talking about alien robots last night before Rodney spoke up.

"What about the others?" He asked. 9S and A2 looked over at him, both smiling and frowning respectively.

"I'm the ninth model in the Scanner Types! I'm tasked with studying the enemy and finding their weaknesses." So he was kind of like an FBI agent? Or like the CIA? Whichever it was, that was pretty cool. He was likeable so it was probably easy to fit in with anyone.

We all looked towards A2, who crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "I'm A2. A for Attacker."

"What's the difference between the Battle model and Attacker model?" John asked. He was at the edge of the wooden seat he pulled in from the kitchen. I wasn't at all surprised he was into this conversation.

"The Attacker model is much more aggressive than the Battle model. Whereas the Battle series relies more on strategy and tactical advantages to outperform their opponent, the Attacker series relies heavily on their powerful skillset." 9S answered, though he continued on.

"For instance, against a numerically superior enemy, the Battle series might make a tactical retreat to set up traps that would cull their numbers enough to wipe out the rest by themselves. An Attacker would simply cut down their enemies regardless of the damage, though they can hasten the fusion occurring inside of them to acquire a large energy boost.

"We later models weren't outfitted with this ability as it poses an unnecessary risk to the user." We waited for a few moments before we accepted that he was finished with his explanation.

"Huh. So, she's basically the strongest physically, you're the smartest, and 2B excels at both?" John asked, his voice clearly indicating he got lost somewhere in the middle of the lecture. I didn't blame him, I got lost, too.

"If you want to simplify it that way, then be my guest." The boy smiled, and believe me, boy was an accurate descriptor for him. He looked no older than a high school sophomore and yet he was already smarter than everyone in the room!

"I have a question," Rodney spoke up, laying his eyes on the androids' weapons. "How are your swords floating like that? Is it anti-gravity, electromagnetism, or some unknown force?"

White floated forward, stopping near Rodney. "Analysis: The swords are suspended by a group of nanobots, as you can see by the small runes near the bottom of the blade. The nanobots have specialized anti-gravity, however, allowing them to float with their weapons." We all looked over at the yellow rings, though they didn't look anything like nanobots to me. "Each nanobot is roughly 0.3487 micrometers, meaning there is anywhere from one to three trillion nanobots in any rune you see."

"Uh-huh…" Even Rodney seemed a little lost at the large numbers and words, but he nodded soon after. "Nanobots are actually the most normal thing so far. We have some, so I don't see why they couldn't get that advanced."

"I have one more question, if that's okay?" I smiled when the trio looked at me, getting a smile from 9S in return. 2B, for some reason, glared at me for that, but at least A2 just looked bored.

"Well, um, what are we going to call you? Your names are fine for private places, but we can't just call you letters and numbers in public. It would draw attention and make people ask questions."

"Really? Why would anyone ask about our names?" 9S tilted his head. I resisted the urge to say it was cute; I had a feeling 2B wouldn't appreciate it.

"Well, humans have ordinary-sounding names, if that makes sense? Like mine is Jane. My brother's is Jack, then we have John, Kristin, and Rodney. Full names, no numbers, and they're all socially acceptable. Having names like 9S or A2 would be fine if you were like, say, rappers, but normal people? Yeah, it would be a little hard to explain."

"I see…" 2B muttered. "What would you suggest we name ourselves, then?"

"I dunno… Guys?" I looked at the others, only to get shrugs in return. I rolled my eyes. "Ugh, you're all useless. Fine, it's a work in progress. I guess I'll think it over while you three stay here. So no leaving until we say you can, alright?" They nodded, 9S vocalizing his response.

"Well, I guess that's all the questions for now… I can't seem to think of anymore that are impo-" Kristin interrupted Jake, her mouth set in a firm frown.

"What happened to the humans?"

"They're extinct," A2 replied, her voice distant. For a second I thought she just didn't care, but I began thinking she might care too much to let it show. I'd have to talk to her later, I thought.

"We gathered that last night. Your Pods told us. What made them go extinct, though? How did they - we - die?" Kristin sounded pretty nervous for the answer, but I respected her dedication to finding the truth. I idly imagined her as a journalist reporting on a grim story.

"Well… That would require a lot of history on our part. I'll keep it short and just tell you the major parts. Humans contracted a disease, something they called 'White Chlorination Syndrome', forcing them to separate their souls from their bodies in order to survive long enough for a cure to be made. It was never created, so humanity died off, leaving their angry souls behind. At least that's what I've gathered, it could easily all be wrong."

"Hey, Rodney, can you search up that disease for us?" Jack requested. It appeared Rodney was already on the case as he had his phone out and his fingers were typing away. We all waited nervously for the answer, our breaths abated.

"Well, there's nothing in real life about White Chlorination Syndrome-"

"So we're good, right? Nothing to worry about!" John interrupted, a satisfied grin on his face. Rodney, clearly agitated, sighed.

"If you'd let me continue, that would be great." That shut poor Johnny-boy up. I gave him a sympathetic smile, which he returned. Rodney continued. "It says the disease is caused by some particles that were brought in by a being called 'the Giant'. That's not the spooky part though," I stifled a giggle at his use of spooky. He was such a nerd. "The really scary thing is this is from a video game."

"A video game?" A2 spoke up, one of her fine eyebrows raised. So she did show emotion outside of sass!

"Yeah. The video game is called NieR, apparently a Japanese game. Came out in 2010 with two versions… it's complicated," he sighed. "Anyways, it's one of the sequels to the previous game, Drakengard. Gotta admit, that's actually a pretty cool name." Yeah, he really was a big nerd…

"A-Anyway," he cleared his throat. "There's a sequel to NieR, and it's called NieR: Automata."

Auto-whatta now? "Which… Well, I'm just going to say it. These three are the main characters in it. Mostly 2B and 9S." He scrolled down his phone, which made him miss the surprised looks on everyone's face. I swear I'm going to have a heart attack from all these surprises…

"We're video game characters?" 9S mumbled, his hand scratching his head. Anger flashed across his face for a split second, but that was enough for me, and presumably the other two androids, to catch it. "But we're real. I mean, clearly we're real, since we're sitting here with you five. What makes you more real than us?"

"I'm not saying you're not real, I'm just saying what I'm reading. It has pictures that are pretty accurate, though they miss a lot of details because of computational limitations. Nonetheless, don't worry about it. Chances are, our world is a video game to some other alternate universe.

"Since we know the multiverse is true, we just have to pretty much accept that everything is a possibility. Even us being crazy and you not existing at all, and vise versa, or whatever other possibility." 9S nodded, speaking up after Rodney finished.

"Then, using that logic, we should be able to find a way back home. Theoretically speaking, that is. I for one don't fancy going back to a world filled with robots whose only purpose is to kill us." His two companions didn't seem to agree entirely, but they didn't voice otherwise. "Anyways, may we ask questions now? I have so many I'd love to get answered!"

Jack chuckled, nodding. "Sure, shoot kid."

"How many humans are alive? What's your technology like? What is it like knowing someday you'll permanently die? Why would you create intelligent machines? What-"

"Slow down, 9S," 2B spoke up in a scolding tone.

"He's just curious," A2 retorted. "Let him ask his questions."

"He'll confuse them with too many of them at once. They won't be able to answer them all."

"That's their fault, not his."

"Ugh, you-" Kristin and I shared an awkward glance as the two argued.

"Uh, guys?" John spoke up, silencing the two androids, both glaring heatedly at each other. "We should, uh, probably focus on the questions?" Good job John, I silently cheered him on. It was good to see he was the only one brave enough to interrupt them.

"Fine." They both said at the same time, causing them to scowl and turn away from one another.

"Well… Let's start with the first one, since it's the easiest to answer. We currently have 7 billion, 347 million people alive, or we did in 2015. It's 2017 now, so it's probably closer to 7.4 billion, give or take a few million." 9S looked so stoked about that many people I had to laugh.

"Our technology is pretty advanced, I guess. Not enough to make androids like yourselves, but we have some robots. Not really the best robots, but they're here regardless. We have cars, some fueled by gasoline while others are electric, and we've gone to the Moon back in the 60's and 70's.

"We have a space station called the ISS, short for International Space Station, and we have cellular phones, which can be used for pretty much anything you want." Jack answered that one, which surprised me. Technology was Rodney's stuff, and it was weird to hear my brother have some knowledge on it.

"Death is pretty accepted, I guess." Kristin spoke to 9S with a smile, which was strange for the topic. "Everyone's died in the past at some point, so we all just kind of accept it with a philosophy of 'live in the moment'."

"We create intelligent machines with the hope of advancing society beyond what humanity can do on its own. Plus there's some scientists and politicians who plan on merging humanity with Artificial Intelligence, so there's that motivation, too." Rodney answered the last question, but it apparently only made 9S more curious. He spewed out more questions for the next half hour, with A2 and 2B sitting there silently the entire time.

"I think that's enough questions for now. I'm not sure if you can get tired, but I for one am exhausted. Why don't we just let you browse the internet to satisfy your curiosity?" I suggested, getting thankful nods from the boys and Kristin. 9S beamed at the opportunity as I handed him my phone, and I quickly told him how to use it.

The five of us - Jack, Rodney, John, Kristin and I - convened in the hallway, our voices no louder than whispers. "What are we going to do? They're definitely here for good, but we can't even come up with names for them! And their hair… Ugh, it's going to be so problematic to get them outside! What if they show their android powers in public and the US government sends the Army to come take them?"

"One, they'd probably send the National Guard first, not the Army. Second, we just give 'em names, how hard is it? Parents do it everyday when they have babies, I'm sure five people can make up names. They already have letters, so we just start with that to make it less complicated."

"That… Was probably the smartest thing you ever said, John. I'm actually astounded." John flipped Rodney off, but our know-it-all friend ignored it. "He's got a point, it shouldn't be too hard. We'll split up into teams and make names for one of the androids. Divide and conquer, and all that."

"I got 9S!" I called dibs immediately, mentally grinning to myself. Everyone shrugged, making me deflate a little. I thought at least some of them would be jealous.

"John and I will get 2B, Rodney and Kristin can get A2, then. Sound good?" We all nodded and walked back into the living room. The three androids were in their previous positions, but 9S was watching some YouTube from the sounds of it.

We sat back down and I sighed, my mind whirling with thoughts on 9S' name. This was going to be more difficult than I thought it would be.

* * *

 **Whoo, another chapter. Took much longer than I wanted it to; I'm pretty bad at deadlines, tbh. Big thanks to Recycler as usual, who is always a gigantic help.**

 **Lots of talk, but talk is gonna be a big part of the story, so it's to be expected. Leave some comments on what their names should be! I'll likely leave a poll depending on the reviews, or if there's too little, then we'll just come up with some on our own. Though I'd much prefer the readers decide their names.**

 **I won't post another chapter until after I post EGDS, but I will work on the next chapter between editing that story and a little story I'm making on the side. I won't tell you when to expect it, since I suck at sticking to deadlines, just know I'll try my best to get it out as soon as possible.**

 **Favorite, follow, and review! Flames, constructive criticism, and just praise is all appreciated and equally valued. Even a short 'Good chapter! :)' does wonders.**

 **I bid you all adieu!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Co-Author: Recycler**

* * *

"I see… So this is what a television is for?" I mumbled, my impression of the machine being very lackluster. What was the use of it? So far, all I've been able to view are animated programs called 'cartoons' and some show about houses. I just didn't see it being so entertaining if that's all there was.

I shook my head and looked over at 2B and 9S, both of whom were still absorbed in the cell phone. I rolled my eyes and leaned back against the admittedly comfortable couch. However even the comfort of the warm and soft home couldn't get my mind off of the uncomfortable feeling sitting in my chest. I wasn't sure what it was, as I had never felt it before, but I did not like it in the slightest.

The back door opening grabbed my attention, my eyes focusing on Jack and Rodney as they walked in carrying two plates of meat. "You guys eat, right?" John asked as he came in, his hands full of some kind of brown food. "'Cause we got us some steak, potatoes, have some hot dogs cooking on the grill, and a full case of beer!"

"Didn't you all drink almost a day ago?" 9S replied, but quickly answered the question. "As for eating, we can. Though we don't necessarily have to, it's just an extra function to allow us to be more akin to our creators."

"... A simple 'yes' would've been great," Jane mumbled as she walked in. Kirstin, who was behind her, simply laughed while shaking her head.

"Maybe you should expand your vocabulary. Then at least you'd be able to understand what they say," she joked.

"Pfft, I understand perfectly! Like that word 9S sometimes uses when he agrees. Indoopidbly… Indubidablly?"

"Indubitably. Point in case," Jane rolled her eyes with a huff.

"Dinner's ready, come get some!" Jack yelled from the kitchen, prompting 9S to run into the dining area excitedly. 2B and I shared a look before she followed after the kid. I stayed on the couch, not at all craving any food. I didn't need to eat, so why waste time on it?

Then again, it wasn't like there was anything better to do… "Hey, you gonna eat, or are you good for now?" That nerdy guy, Rodney, asked from behind the couch. I looked back at him, his usually well-kempt hair messed up for whatever reason. Not that I cared too much, though.

"I'm fine," I responded curtly. He shrugged and walked off, taking his seat at the kitchen's table. I heard chatter and laughter, but tried my best to ignore it. It only got louder and more incessant, causing me to sigh. Why was it that I never had peace after meeting 2B and 9S?

"A2! You have to try this, it's fantastic!" Speaking of the boy, he popped up suddenly beside the couch. I simply sighed and sat up fully, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Why? It's just cooked meat. I highly doubt it's anything important to focus on." He simply smiled and held out a small plate to me. It had a small steak, some what I assumed to be mashed potatoes covered in gravy, and a side of green beans.

"They call it T-bone steaks, they're apparently very popular here in Texas. Though I'm pretty sure any steak is well known here," He chuckled as I slowly took it, eyeing it warily. "Just try it! It tastes great! I promise you'll love it," He exclaimed at my hesitation.

Slowly, I took a bite of the cut steak, rolling it around in my mouth. It tasted of salt and iron, but had a tint of smoke inside. "It's… Alright, I suppose," I muttered, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. I tried the potatoes next, which tasted better but still weren't fantastic, then finally I ate some of the green beans. They were alright too, but nothing to write home about.

Despite my reservations, the entire plate was gone within five minutes, leaving an empty plate and a smirking 9S. "Uh-huh. You know, a famous saying by a human named Abraham Lincoln is 'Actions speak louder than words' which I think you just proved."

I scoffed but handed him the plate, my arms crossing across my chest. "Fine, it tasted… Good. But I still prefer not eating than that. It takes too long to flush out of my system."

"Sure you do A2."

I just rolled my eyes as he walked back into the kitchen, a goofy smile on his face. I never will understand that kid and his obsession with literally everything that isn't fighting. Though with how our last battle ended, he clearly had been doing his homework… I shivered at the thought, erasing it from my mind.

I might not like being here, but it was magnitudes better than anything like that fight.

"Sooo…" Kristin spoke up, loud enough for me to hear it. Though it was unnecessary, as I could hear her at her normal volume. "How about we go to the museum tomorrow? We'll give you guys a pair of our clothes and probably dye your hair to make you stand out less, then show you three the town."

"Wait, you're going to change our hair color?" 9S asked, confusion lacing his voice.

"It'll only be temporary if you don't want to change the color. We'll just have to do it every time you go out, which will cost more money and time, but we can't force you to do anything."

"Well, alright… I guess that's fine, right 2B?"

"Sure, I don't mind. My appearance doesn't matter much, I suppose." She responded easily. I sighed and shook my head, closing my eyes and leaning my head back.

"What about you, A2?" Jack asked, making me look over. I raised an eyebrow. Why did he care?

"I don't see why not."

"Then it's settled. We'll go to the museum tomorrow, make sure you guys know what's what around here!" John exclaimed, a wide grin on his face. "Plus we get to see military history! That'll be so badass!"

"I'm more into the paleontology department than anything else," Kristin responded, a happy smile on hers.

"I like the art," Jane said.

Jack shrugged, "Eh, I'd rather play Madden, but I guess anything is fine."

"I'm mostly interested in what you three will think," Rodney looked pointedly at each of us Androids. "It's the main reason we're going there, so you three can learn. It'll be fun."

"You sound just like a teacher," Jack laughed, getting a punch in the shoulder from it. "Hey!"

"Please, I refuse to be a teacher. I'd rather shoot myself in the foot than deal with kids."

The chatter trailed off from there, going off long into the night until we all fell asleep.

* * *

"What the hell is an 'Iguanodon'?" I muttered, staring at the large beast with a raised eyebrow. It was about nine feet tall and twenty-seven feet long, making it one of the largest organic lifeforms I'd ever seen. I had of course seen much larger robots, though, so it didn't impress me much. I looked down at the information plaque and read it over, grunting at the rather inept description.

"Herbivore, averaged 16 feet tall, 30 feet long, weighed around 4 to 5 tons… This is boring," I sighed, but 9S only shot me a look of surprise.

"Boring? These are some of the most amazing things I've ever seen! The Tyrannosaurus rex, the Dilophosaurus, the Stegosaurus! These creatures lived millions of years ago and ruled the world! It's eye opening to the insignificant problems life faces; a sign that even the mightiest will eventually die out, no matter one's efforts," I simply rolled my eyes, a sigh escaping my mouth.

"You're just being a nerd, 9S."

"You don't appreciate the beauty of learning, A2," he pouted. I simply pat his head, walking past him towards another exhibit.

"How about we go to the military history section? At least that part has stuff that's actually interesting, all this has is bones and rubber replicas. I've heard from John that World War II is particularly fascinating."

"Well, I guess that's alright… We can come back here before we leave though, right 2B?" He looked over at his partner, who nodded with a smile.

"Of course, I'm actually rather interested in some of the sea creatures displayed here."

"Awesome! Let's go then!" We all walked through the dinosaur exhibit, 9S chatting animatedly all the while. 2B would pitch in a comment or two every now and then, but for the most part he did all the talking. As soon as we walked into the war history section, John spotted us.

It was almost like he was waiting for us…

"Hey guys! How're ya liking the museum?" He walked up to us, smiling as 9S and 2B greeted him.

"It's so cool! I really like, well, everything," 9S chuckled, John shrugging as a response.

"Dinosaurs and art are cool and all, but just you wait. Military history is by far the coolest stuff you'll see here! Matter of fact, I was going to join the military, but I kind of broke an arm in high school. They wouldn't let me in because it didn't heal properly," He seemed a little disappointed about it, which was fair. I would probably be pretty pissed if I wasn't able to my job too.

"Anyways, let's go. Old wars like the Spartans or the Crusades won't be covered, they're pretty pointless unless you want to be a historian. But more recent wars like the American Revolution or the two World Wars are a little more important than that."

He showed us the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the French Revolution with some dictator named Napoleon Bonaparte, and a few other major wars. We made it to the first World War before he finally gained some real elevation for the topic.

"World War I, originally known as the Great War because none before were anything like it, began in 1914, after the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated by by a Serbian nationalist guy. It ended in 1918, a year after the Americans joined the war. There were two sides; The Central Powers and the Allies. The Central Powers consisted of Austria-Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire. The Allies had Great Britain, Russia, France, Italy, Romania, Japan and the United States.

"Despite being obviously outnumbered, the Central Powers were pretty damn strong. Specifically Germany, who were basically the powerhouse of the group. The others were strong in their own right, but they would've been beaten pretty solidly without 'em. Anyways, they fought mostly in trenches with rifles. Machine guns were pretty rare since they were very new, but they kind of existed.

"American machine guns were good, French ones sucked - no, seriously. They fired like three times before jamming! Ugh, anyways - Germany had some good ones, etcetera. Now, tanks were just being introduced. They were the thing everyone feared, still do really, but even moreso. Not many ways to take one down outside of some dangerous explosive devices."

"Uh…" 9S raised his hand, getting raised eyebrows out of John. "Yeah, I don't know what most of these things are. I mean, I know the definitions, but they kind of get muddled up the way you're using them."

"Oh. Well, over there is the British Mark I tank. The first of its kind. It was a death machine at the time, but the tanks we have nowadays would utterly decimate it. Especially the M1A2 Abrams, or the feared Leopard 2A7. Machine guns are rapidly firing rifles, though I'm pretty sure you knew that one, and the things I was about to move onto are chemical weapons. Basically gases that could either disorientate you or kill you brutally. Both tend to be pretty nasty, especially in trench warfare."

"Would that work against machines?" 2B piped up, her own curiosity seemingly piqued. I wouldn't lie, I was actually rather curious as well. I doubted machine guns would do much outside of Pods' own, but tanks and chemical gases sounded like they could be pretty deadly.

"Depends on the kind of gases you use, I guess," He shrugged. "LIke, maybe some acidic gases could damage the wiring, but it would have to be pretty strong. Or you could put flammable gas in the air and light it on fire. So long as it seeped into the machine it would probably cause all kinds of damage." I smirked, promising to test that later. I might not fight robots anytime soon, but never say never, right?

"Anyways, you had planes, like the Bristol Type 22, or the Fokker D VII. You had zeppelins - uh, airships- and a lot of other machinery. Ships, bombs, and a lot of other cool stuff were used. Let's move on to World War II, I like it more," We all nodded and followed him as he walked down the hall. I looked at any weapon, judging its worth. All of it was highly primitive, which disappointed me.

"So, during the 1930's, after Germany and the other Central Powers lost, a man named Adolf Hitler slowly rose to power in Europe. It's lot's of complicated politics that I won't bore you with," I idly heard 9S say 'politics aren't boring' before I tuned back in to John.

"So Germany, Italy, Japan and some other countries that are pretty irrelevant teamed up, making the Axis Powers. Russia was with them at first but eventually went to the Allies, which consisted of France, Great Britain, and the United States once again, along with others as usual." He rambled on about this Second World War, but it lost my attention halfway through. It sounded familiar to the first war, just with a lot more genocide and racism.

Humans might deeply care about that, but it wasn't anything important to me. Racism and genocide were everyday life where we came from; robots hate humans and aliens, humans hated robots and aliens, aliens hated basically everything besides them, and so on. These wars were rather boring as well - where were the powerful weapons? The superweapons? The amazing technology?

The most impressive thing was the German's Gustav, but even that wasn't much.

But the next topic, this 'Cold War'... That piqued my interest, and it grasped 9S more than the previous wars. It grabbed mine because of the only superweapon thus far, the nuclear bomb. 9S probably liked it for the science, while 2B clearly felt similar to me. I think, at least. Who knew what was going through her mind?

"The Cold War began in 1947 and ended in 1991, so it lasted nearly half a century. It was between the United States and the Soviet Union, which is what Russia is today. Despite its name the 'Cold War', it in itself wasn't a war. It was the edge of a war - the last war that we would ever see. Nuclear war would wipe out life, period. You, me, everyone. We'd all be dead in its wrath, either from the radiation, electromagnetic pulses, or the cold, harsh winter afterward.

"During this time something called the Space Race sprung forward, ultimately getting us to the moon. Not sure if you guys ever got past the moon, but that's as far as we've gotten to this day. A bit before that, though, the Soviets detonated the most powerful hydrogen bomb ever. Called the Tsar Bomba, it had a yield of fifty megatons. That's fifty million tons of TNT.

"That was pretty damn big, but no one tried to beat it after that. Why make larger, less accurate bombs when you could make some decently powerful and very accurate ones for less money? But besides nuclear weaponry, we were in multiple mini-wars against Communism, a pretty stupid political viewpoint about no money and whatnot. Sounds pretty boring, I'm glad we beat it back ultimately.

"Anyways, some of those wars were the Korean War and Vietnam. I personally don't care about Korea, so you can look that up later if you want. But Vietnam…" He began chuckling darkly, making me step away slowly. That was a creepy laugh and I didn't like it, not in the slightest.

"What happened in Vietnam?" I voiced, hoping it would stop that sound.

"Ah, well," He spoke about the Vietnam War, a little about some civilians protesting it, and the brutality of it. He promised to show us some Vietnam movies when we got back to the house, much to 9S' enjoyment.

After a few hours we left the museum. Kristin was talking to Jack and Jane about some of the scientific topics while Rodney, John, 9S and 2B were chatting amicably of basically everything 9S liked.

I just walked off to the side, my mouth set in a firm frown. I didn't dislike the museum, but… I still had that feeling. It never went away, and I didn't think it would.

I hated it here.

* * *

 **Here's another chapter of TDTEMF! A little lackluster, I must say, but it's still the beginning of the story. Things should start speeding up soon enough, we just need to get the three accustomed to our Earth.**

 **Just to clarify a few things: 1. Yes, they are in Texas. Unspecified location because I tried writing it in an actual city, but I've never been to the museum there (or any museum, actually) so I just decided to make their location up in the air for now. 2. I know there's a lot of talking, especially about our world, but I was trying to focus on their reactions to learning. In hindsight, 9S would have been absolutely perfect for this chapter, but I wanted to try writing in A2's perspective. Bad decision in my opinion.**

 **Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed. Leave some comments on what the Androids should do next. Should they go to a mall? Amusement park? Should it focus on the three watching and conversing about some documentaries/movies/TV shows/etc.? I dunno, leave a review of what you want.**

 **Until then, I bid you all adieu.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Co-Author: Recycler. (P.S. This chapter is a bit different from what I usually write. It is a reaction chapter, but we had to fill it with something before things start to heat up. Author's notes at the bottom as usual.)**

* * *

We sat around the television, our eyes glued to the screen as we watched the supposed 'webshow'. We were using the Xbox One available to us to watch YouTube, which I found simply fascinating.

My personal views of the interconnectivity of devices aside, I brought my attention back to the show. It was something called 'RWBY', pronounced 'Ruby' like the gemstone. I didn't exactly understand it (How does a W make a U sound?) but Kristin just told me to ignore the technicalities and enjoy the show.

I found the first Volume to be very simplistic; the animation wasn't as good as some I've seen, the story focused around humans and these strange human-animal hybrids known as Faunus, and the drama between students. The end was better, since it involved actual real world problems over melodrama. Still, I found it interesting how humans react to one another and how they resolve their differences. Simplistic didn't mean bad, after all!

"I think my favorite character is Weiss," I opinionate with a smile. The two girls looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"She's a bitch," A2 pointed out.

"Kind of reminds you of someone, doesn't it? Long white hair, blue eyes, a bad attitude…" 2B trailed off, but a small smirk came to her face as A2 glared at her.

"Like you're any better-" A2 was cut off by me.

"Uh, well, anyways," I coughed - rather unnecessarily, but I did so anyways - and tried to reignite a civilized conversation. "I like her because she's intelligent, strong, and mistaken as a selfish and snobby person. I think she's really just afraid to express herself naturally."

"Well, my favorite is Blake." I looked at 2B, hoping for an explanation. She sighed before elaborating. "She's also smart, but focuses a lot on the mission at hand. She's dedicated, strong, and capable of seeing through with the mission. Her drive is admirable and would make for an excellent soldier."

"I don't care enough about the show to make an opinion," A2 sighed. I just laughed. That was exactly like her, I thought.

Exactly like her to not tell her true feelings, that is. "Come on, everyone has some kind of favorite. Who do you dislike the least?" I nudged her, a grin on my face. She just rolled her eyes and sighed, very similarly to 2B just a minute ago.

"I guess Lie Ren. He seems to be the only level headed one in the two groups, besides possibly Pyrrha. Then again, she chose a worthless partner based off of one single interaction, so that's debatable." I hummed, nodding in agreement. 2B grabbed the remote and pressed the play button, stopping the conversation and starting the next season.

The second volume better grasped my attention, though I wasn't sure about 2B and A2. The entire volume involved the character's fight against a terrorist group, the White Fang, and their interaction as a team under stress. We had just watched the last episode about the 'Breach' and were now conversing about it.

"I don't know, you would think they would have a better defense than relying on students to combat such a threat," 2B muttered, her visor discarded for once. "I for one would not entrust new recruits to battle any robots over trained YoRHa operatives, no matter how skilled. They're still inexperienced."

"They might be desperate," A2 decided to speak up. "Think about it. Humanity had to make us to fight the robots because they were desperate. This could be their step towards copying that decision if it comes to it."

I smiled and joined the conversation. "Yeah. This could be their last attempt before mass producing Penny like they do the Knights. From what I've seen in the show, a soul and living creatures are highly valued in their society. Even Faunus are much more valued than the Grimm. So they might be holding onto the belief that humanity should do the job over AI."

"It's a stupid belief. If there were more like Penny then I doubt they'd have as much of a Grimm problem. Don't they have those large airships too? Just bomb them from the sky. That should cull their numbers quickly." I chuckled at 2B's comment, shaking my head.

"They could do that, but the Grimm seem to come back pretty quick. Strategically speaking, it's futile and inefficient."

"I know that, but Mountain Glenn was a prime example of the sheer idiocy of their leaders. They continue doing the same thing time and again with no gain. It might waste resources, but if it pushes back an overwhelming number of enemies long enough for them to build new, stronger settlements, then I don't see the issue there."

A2 shrugged and sighed, a hand running through her hair. "I'm going with 2B here. Sorry 9S. Bombing them to oblivion would be a good move. They may come back, they may not. They seem to realize it isn't worth attacking large settlements with high protection, so you could bomb an area, keep an airship there to defend it until proper defenses are built up, then continue to the next one."

"But they have avian Grimm as well. Nevermore can be anything from the size of normal birds or large as planes, like the one they fought in Initiation. Get enough of those swarming at once and I'd imagine it would be enough to take down an airship."

"Just bring a ton of AA guns then. Shouldn't be too hard to bomb the ground and shoot birds."

"Whatever, let's just watch the next volume. Kristin says it's her favorite." 2B interrupted before I could continue the previous debate. I smiled and nodded anyways, switching it to Volume 3.

The hour clicked by faster than I expected and, before I knew it, the season was over. I saw why it was Kristin's favorite.

It was everything the last two volumes had and more. Fighting, drama, comedy, and a new darker undertone to the story. It wasn't the most original of plots; A big evil threatens the land, managing to overwhelm the good guys before they reform stronger than ever and, as yet to be seen, defeat the evil.

Original it might not be, but it made up for it in eccentricity. Not in the bad way, either. It was strange, yes, but only because it combined numerous works on fiction, history, cartoons called 'anime', as well as many other movies, TV shows, and pop culture aspects. I wouldn't call it the best piece of entertainment I've seen, but it definitely did not disappoint.

"I can't believe they killed Pyrrha," 2B grumbled. "She was way too soft, but she was undoubtedly the best combatant of her year."

"I'm disappointed about Penny. She was way better than Pyrrha," A2 spoke up next, who despite her words didn't appear any different than usual. Though there was a tinge of something in her eyes.

"Personally, I think their deaths were necessary. Ozpin's, Roman's, Penny's and Pyrrha's. Without their deaths then the story likely wouldn't have progressed much. We'd be stuck in the same place, and that would get rather boring." My opinion was met with two blank stares.

"Anyways," 2B drawled. "How about Salem?"

"Her voice actress is fantastic. I heard her in one of John's games, Halo I think it was. Though her design is original, but I still haven't seen many movies or shows like this. I'm pretty excited that Cinder isn't the main villain as well, it makes for an interesting twist."

"Eh," A2 shrugged. "I could care less about Salem. She's said a few lines, has an interesting design, but that's about it. I prefer Neo. She doesn't talk, but her actions speak louder than words."

I quirked my lips. I didn't like Neo too much. "Well, I think the more pressing concern is Ozpin. We didn't see him die. He was the only one not to be shown killed, so it's safe to assume he might not actually be dead."

"Or maybe there was just too much death for one episode," I nodded at 2B's response. That made sense, but I doubted it was the reason. "Having four characters killed on screen might lose some of the younger audience."

"Fair enough. I still suspect something larger is going on. Why show smaller character's die off but not the leader of the good guys?"

"We'll just have to find out. Speculation leads nowhere when the trail itself isn't even complete," A2 ended it, making me frown a bit. I was having fun… "I'm a little more interested on Qrow though," The smirk on her face told me just what kind of 'interested' she meant. 2B rolled her eyes and I just sat there awkwardly.

"Didn't peg you for the romantic type," 2B said. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was teasing A2.

A2 just shrugged, flicking her hair out of her eyes. "Romantic is a strong word. I don't want romance, I want other things."

"That's nasty."

"What can I say? We may be Androids, but they made us pretty damn close to humans," I quickly reached for the remote and pressed the play button, starting Volume 4 before this conversation got any more gross.

From browsing the internet, I came to the conclusion that this was what people called 'filler'. Some parts were very important to the story, such as the Qrow and RNGR meeting, but the fight with the strange Grimm and Yang's nighttime conversation with Port, Oobleck and Taiyang seemed fairly unneeded. There were other points where it felt unnecessary, but I didn't mind too much.

It wasn't the best volume, but neither was it the worst. The animation was superb, as well as the voice acting. It managed to be light hearted yet keep the dark undertone all throughout the volume.

"That horse Grimm was kind of creepy, wouldn't you say?" I asked, looking at the two fighters.

"No."

"No."

"... Well, I guess I'm alone in that regard," I murmured. "I am a little surprised that Lionheart is working with Salem. I didn't expect for her to work with the headmasters."

"It's not too surprising," A2 spoke up. It surprised and pleased me that she was talking so much today. Maybe we should do this more often, I thought. "Having an inside agent is strategically intelligent. It's why organizations, such as the CIA in the United States, exist. It provides invaluable information. How else did they learn about the Maidens, who they were, about those artifacts located under the schools, and so on?"

2B nodded, speaking up next. "Plus it gives extra power to their side. Political influence, the ability to sway information to the public, make it so Haven looks at the other kingdoms and thinks they're corrupt, and provide plenty of propaganda to attract willing soldiers to fight, and die, for them."

"I figured as much. But knowing it can happen doesn't lessen the surprise. You can know when the world will end and how, but seeing it happen still surprises you. Still, it's interesting. I'm wondering what Lionheart has to gain by the destruction of his school and other's, as well as betraying his friends. As you said before, speculation is futile," I felt Jack's influence rub off on me as my tone gained a sarcastic effect at the end.

"For a volume full of nothing majorly important, there sure is a lot to talk about…" 2B mumbled. I nodded in agreement. We barely started but it's all been on one topic, and we could probably go on that topic for another ten minutes.

"Is it just me, or is Weiss' entire family full of dysfunctional jerkoffs?" A2 still disliked Weiss for reasons I couldn't comprehend. She was still in my top three favorites. I'd say she's tied for first alongside Oobleck. The man values information gathering just as much, if not more so, than combat. Very inspiring indeed.

"That's true. Everyone except for her and Winter seem to be on the lower end of who's likeable." Yeah, 2B really liked Winter. I didn't blame her, but her favoritism of Winter seemed to be more like a love of the character than a simple like.

"I think the only characters that I dislike are Whitley and Jacques. Her mom seems to be an alcoholic, but Qrow is too, so…"

"Don't you dare compare Qrow to that woman," A2 glared at me. I gulped and scooted away. "Qrow is a functional alcoholic, that woman can't even spend time with her own children because she's too busy drowning herself in booze."

I just nodded, hoping it would prevent her from going off on me. I doubted she would, but the glare… "Speaking of Qrow, his Semblance is rather strange." 2B interrupted. I sent her a grateful smile and responded to her. Anything to get A2's ire away from me is something I'll jump at.

"Yeah. Probability manipulation, especially towards specific events, is rather powerful. It's very good in certain situations, like combat, but talking to people probably makes it a poor ability to have."

I looked at the clock, noticing it said 4:54, before getting back into the conversation. We'd have to clean up before Jack got off work. "Probability manipulation would be a very powerful weapon against the robots. Imagine all the messed up wires that come from it," A2 grinned slightly before it disappeared back to her normal look.

"How did he train Ruby then? I imagine teaching her how to use a scythe would end up with a lot of cuts and scratches, if not outright dismemberment."

"Maybe it was via notes and the Scroll. It likely eliminates any effect of his Semblance," 2B helpfully added. I chewed my cheek and thought on it, but it didn't add up.

"She probably just didn't cut off limbs. Or she used a practice scythe until she was proficient enough to go to a real one. But those still don't add up, so I'm not sure. They might expand more later, who knows."

"Yeah-" 2B was cut off by the door opening, with Jack walking in carrying an umbrella.

"Damn rain… Good thing I remembered my umbrella…" He mumbled and set it off to the side before taking off his jacket and shoes. He walked into the living room and stopped when he saw us.

"Uh… Is there a meeting or something?" He looked around, an eyebrow raised. "I don't see your Pods, so what's up?"

"We were just watching the web show RWBY. Kristin recommended it, so we figured we'd check it out," I smiled as I answered. He nodded and walked to the kitchen.

"Well just don't make anymore of a mess, clean up once you're done, and come in the kitchen when the others get here. We got stuff to talk about," We all shared a curious look before we started picking up the mess. There were some soda cans, a bag of chips, pillows and blankets, as well as the cell phone we were given to share.

"Well, guess we'll cut this short. Maybe we can watch Chibi later?" They all nodded and we stood up, walking towards the kitchen.

* * *

 **This chapter was a tad strange to write. It was kind of a chore for me to do; I'm not the biggest fan of any reaction fics, even if they're just one chapter things. But who knows, you guys might've liked it, or you might not have. Either way go ahead and tell us in the reviews - and we may do it again or not. Again I dunno, this was kind of a test while also trying to get another chapter out.**

 **Next chapter will really _start_ the story. It'll open up plot, provide action, and give the characters some actual growth outside of time jumps. **

**Speaking of, this doesn't specify when this happens, but it is around 3 weeks after they appeared.**

 **So, yeah. Kind of underwhelming chapter, but I had to post something. Favorite, follow and review if you enjoyed anyways!**

 **I bid you all adieu.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Co-Author: Recycler**

* * *

The eight of us - plus two Pods - gathered around the kitchen table. It was a bit cramped and there weren't enough chairs to fit everyone, calling in some lawn chairs to make impromptu seating. There was a little sign on the table with the words 'Classified Meeting' on it, written in fine cursive. The group stared at each other, five vs three, with the exception of the Pods. They were chatting between themselves, speaking in their strange future language.

I didn't understand anything that was going on, but I did know something. What was that something? Simple.

I knew I didn't know a damn thing that these guys were planning. Jane, Jack and Rodney called for a meeting at Jack's house after we all got off of work. Kristin being Kirstin knew immediately what we were going to talk about, but I wasn't as uh, commonsensical. Is that a word? Whatever.

I looked around the group with a confident face. Even if I didn't know what was going on, I could at least act like I did! I saw 9S talking the other two androids' ears off, Jane talking to Kristin about something secretively, and finally Jack and Rodney were just sitting there on their phones.

I, being my usual awesome self, decided to start the conversation. With a suave grin, a slightly quirked eyebrow, and all the confidence I could muster in my voice, I spoke. "So… What're we doin'?" My confidence gave way to weak confusion as all eyes (and blank metal surfaces) turned towards me. I gulped and scratched my shoulder. "Yeah, I really dunno what we're meeting for to be honest."

Jack sighed and shook his head. "C'mon man, remember what we talked about the other week? About names?" Ohhh, that's what this was? That explains why we were rushed to make the names last time we met up.

"Names?" 9S asked. I looked over at anyone to jump in, which Jane did. She smiled proudly, clearly smug about her naming abilities.

"Your name," She pointed to 9S. "Will be Sam!" The silence was comedic and I was tempted to make cricket sounds. Sadly 9S, or 'Sam', spoke up before I could tease her.

"Sam? Why Sam?" He tilted his head, his face just screaming confusion.

"Well, it's Samuel, like the Biblical prophet and ancient King of Israel. He was said to be wise and, well, you're a pretty smart kid, so I kinda thought it fit," She shrugged. He smiled, clearly pleased with the name, and nodded in agreement.

"I like it a lot. Thanks Jane!" They shared smiles before Rodney looked over at A2.

"We decided to name you Anne. Short for Andraste, the Celtic goddess of war… I think," He mumbled. Kristin giggled and pat his shoulder sympathetically.

"Yep. Andraste is a bit of a strange name though, and since the reason we're giving you guys names is to normalize you three, we decided to make it Anne." A2 looked at them quizzically before shrugging. I scratched the back of my head with an awkward tilt to my lips. Was she going to say anything, or…?

Moments ticked by and, upon realizing she wasn't going to state her thoughts, Jack cleared his throat and looked at 2B. She looked back expectantly, her visor preventing us from getting a good idea of her thoughts.

"We decided Bethany for you," Jack started. "We kind of stole a page out of Jane's book and made it a biblical reference. We looked up some stuff, namely the endings of NieR: Automata, and kind of decided that since you came back from the dead in Ending E, Bethany would be apt."

"Yep," I decided to butt in. Everyone else got to speak and I wanted to say something dammit. "In the Bible, the City of Bethany is the place where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. It's symbolic and all that nice stuff. What'cha think?"

"That's fine," She nodded. Her facial expression didn't change any, so I assumed she wasn't lying. But she was an android, so who knew? She could be an expert at hiding her emotions for all I knew.

"Cool!" I smiled, leaning back in the lawn chair I sat upon. "We kinda decided you three would be siblings, too, so you'll all share the same last name. Tretton, I think it's from like Norway or somethin'." Kristin sighed and shook her head.

"It's Swedish."

"Meh, potatoes, potahtoes."

"That doesn't make a modicum of sense," Ohhh she was using big words now. I just grumbled and crossed my arms, deciding to use the age old silent treatment.

Sam cleared his throat - how did he do that? He was an android, did he even need to cough? - and spoke up. "So we're Sam, Anne and Bethany Tretton?" At our nods he continued. "Cool! I always wondered what a family would be like," I saw Jane cover her mouth and some strange noise come out, but disregarded it. She was impossible to understand. Though 2B was staring in her direction with a frown, so maybe she understood?

"What's our cover story?" A2- I mean, Anne, asked. She had a point, I didn't think about a backstory for them. Rodney apparently did, however, as he brought his laptop up to the table. Freakin' nerd.

He opened it and typed some stuff in before speaking. "Tretton is Swedish, as Kristin said, so we decided that you three would descend from Swedish parents. We were going to go with the whole 'born and raised here' idea, but seeing as you don't have any form of identification, Social Security, or, well, anything, we kind of had to go with you three being immigrants. We'll have to find some way to get you that stuff, which will be incredibly hard-"

"Actually," I grinned, finally feeling useful. Hell yeah, I got to do something now! "I know a guy who could totally forge that stuff." Rodney opened his mouth, probably to protest my genius, but I stopped him in his tracks. "He's a retired Airman, total genius when it comes to this stuff. Dude scored a 99 on the ASVAB. I've seen his work, it looks identical to the stuff the government makes. So we could get him to make their birth certificates, their ID, Social Security numbers, and anything else we'll need! Since I know him, I'm sure we could get a discount. It'll still be expensive, but at least they won't be shipped off, right?"

The room was silent before Jack sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I hate to admit it, but John's right. We can't do it the legal way, it'll either take too long or it just won't work. This is the best bet for them, and us, to get them moving along quickly. They can't live in my house forever, it's only a one room, one bath place."

Kristin looked around, her mouth quirked in thought. "Yeah… I can't think of a better way. Maybe if we had more time we could, but we're running pretty short on it. We can't hide them for the rest of our lives and they'll be found out eventually."

"This is so stupid," Rodney groaned. Jane nodded next to him. "Why the hell am I actually considering this? I don't want to go to federal prison dammit!"

One of the Pods - the white one - floated up, it's sudden movement catching all of our attention. "Suggestion: Pod-153 and I shall assist this 'Airman' in his endeavours of creating reliable and effective paperwork."

"But… You two don't have hands," I murmured. "How are you going to do anything?"

"We are capable of synthesizing materials into complex formations, provided we understand the design and materials involved. Your 'Airman' would need to run us through how to make them, but we could very easily assist in the process." The black one responded. Pod-135 or whatever. I sucked with numbers, crap.

"So you're basically like 3D printers?" Rodney inquired, his interest piqued. I whispered 'nerd', getting a short laugh out of Jack.

The Pods bobbed in a fashion that looked to me like a nod. "In a way. It is a function programed into us in the event one of our charges lost a vital piece: we could print out a new, temporary one that would work for a short period of time. Of course, inanimate objects like we're describing will be much easier to make and will be permanent."

"Amazing… You Pods are extremely useful. Hopefully someday we'll create something similar to you, it would be great for the world," Rodney put away his laptop before looking at me. He was kind of scowling, so he was pretty angry I think, but at least he wasn't trying to fight, right? "If this goes south, I'm blaming you."

"... Does that mean we're doing it?"

Everyone except the Pods and androids sighed before speaking simultaneously. "Yes, John."

"Hell yeah!"

* * *

John and the others went to his sketchy contact, but I decided to take Sam with me to go shopping. They needed clothes now that they were getting ready to go out and be citizens, so I took it upon myself to do it. Jane might've been a better choice, but they needed normal clothes, not clubbing clothes.

The boys… Yeah, they didn't know how to dress themselves, let alone others. We were walking down the street towards the bank first though - I needed to withdraw money before we could do anything. Money was kind of important after all.

I looked over at Sam, quirking an eyebrow at his excited attitude. "What's got you so happy?" I asked.

"I've never seen so many people before! Well, I mean, going to the museum I saw a lot of people, but not this many!" I giggled and shook my head.

"School's coming up for the kids. They're probably shopping for clothes and school supplies," I informed him. He hummed and nodded, a smile still plastered on his face.

"I think it's great that humanity values education so much. It's quite admirable that you pursue knowledge so dedicatedly," I listened to his thoughts, smiling myself at them. For a person that was probably smarter than everyone in a thousand foot radius combined, he was so innocent. No wonder Jane found him to be 'puppy cute', as she put it.

"You'd love all the scientific institutions in the world, then. Like NASA, SpaceX, the Planetary Society, CERN, any major university, and a lot of other places I don't even know about."

"That's a lot of institutions… That's so cool!" His smile was contagious. Why were Anne and Beth so grumpy with him around? "Maybe I could join one someday."

"They'd be very lucky to have you with them," I pat his shoulder. "I'll do my best to get you into school so you can get the requirements to join."

"Really? Thanks so much Kristin!" We finally reached the bank, which I was slightly disappointed about. I was enjoying our conversation. Though my mood lifted once more when he opened the door for me.

"Aww, where'd you learn to be a gentleman?" I asked, giving him a thank you as I walked in.

"I saw it in some movies and TV shows, so I had assumed it was normal to do for a female companion," Giggling again, I shook my head.

"Not just for girls. Anyone could do it for anyone - it's just common decency. Just don't hold it open if they're like ten feet away or more. That gets a tad awkward for them."

He nodded, probably jotting down notes in his head for later. I looked at the line and groaned, noticing how long it was. Stupid end of summer vacation, making everyone go shopping… I stood at the back of the line while 9S walked around, his eyes scanning the entire building like it was some important artifact with important secrets.

… I should probably slow down on the reading. It's getting to my head. I pulled out my phone and browsed for any recent books by any of my favorite authors. One of my all-time favorites has a new book coming out in a couple months, but that obviously wasn't now. I clicked my tongue in slight irritation. No one has published any recent novels, much to my chagrin. Life hated me.

Behind me the doors opened up, and quite a few footsteps followed. I heard a guard say something before a very loud bang rang out, forcing me to drop to my knees and cover my head in panic. What was going on?! "Hello there y'all," A deep southern voice called out, his tone sickeningly smug. "How 'bout y'all get on your knees like this pretty lady here."

* * *

Why did I agree to this? I knew it was a bad idea - an absolutely terrible, abhorrent, God-awful idea. I said it, I meant it, yet I didn't do a damn thing to prevent it. I was supposed to be the smart one, I wasn't supposed to bow to peer pressure and some half-jacked idiotic plan!

I was so going to make John pay for this ludicrous idea later on. Maybe I'll have him shave off all his hair, or worse, dye it.

Well, knowing him, he would probably take it in stride anyways… I'll think of something, that much is obvious. They were all currently working on the forging process in this filthy house. It made me question John's friends deeply. Wasn't he a General's son? I expected such a strict dad would make him to be better behaved.

I guess I wouldn't know, having two mothers and all. I just lounged gently on the couch, near the edge (who knew what was inside this old thing? It could have roaches for all we knew!), while browsing the news. More of the same; Terrorism, international affairs, the media critiquing the president as usual, so on and so forth. All kinds of juicy politics that none of my friends outside of Jack like to talk about. Though I'm pretty sure Jack only talks about it because he doesn't care what he does, not because he had a real interest in it.

Kristin sometimes does, but she tends to get really touchy on subjects. Jane just doesn't understand politics, preferring more to focus on her music. Speaking of, she was kind of rocking out to John's friend's rock collection. John usually had an opinion on military topics, but that usually got pretty old for me. Unlike him, I didn't exactly fancy war or violence in general.

Luckily these Pods came around; they were willing to talk about literally everything and were extremely knowledgeable on almost any topic. They even helped me with a program I was working on.

I wanted one of them so bad…

Unfortunately for me, I couldn't talk to them for any measure of entertainment, as they were busy printing out the IDs at the moment. We had the Social Security numbers done by now, which was weird. I had no clue whatsoever on how they're made, but I figure finding which numbers haven't yet been used would be rather difficult.

Whatever, I sighed. It hardly mattered. I grabbed the TV remote and turned it on, my boredom having reached its peak. For being in the room with criminals I was oddly calm. Maybe it was just the whole shock of it all.

I began surfing through the channels, coming across so many boring shows, some cartoons, and a few news stations. I yawned before sighing in exasperation. Why was I getting so bored? I was usually fine with nothing to do. Patience was my strength after all. I flicked by another local news station and, for some strange reason, lingered there for a second longer than usual. It was enough, as the screen showed an aerial view of the bank near the mall.

The male voice was recalling the events of what was apparently a bank heist, causing me to frown. Didn't Kristin say something about going to the bank first? "Hey, guys…" I started slowly.

"Yeah? 'Sup man?" Jack responded, walking over to me. I pointed at the screen with the remote.

"Didn't Kristin and 9S go there?" I didn't even bother to correct the name, three weeks of calling him that made it difficult to change. Nonetheless, my concern was elsewhere, namely on my two friends.

"Oh fuck... Guys! We need to go, NOW!" Jack called out, forcing everyone to look over towards us. I was already standing up and gathering my stuff when Anne, Beth, Jane, John and his friend - Kaleb or something - came over.

"What's going on?" The damn forger inquired. What did he care?

Jack looked at him and sighed. "Our friends are in trouble, we need to go."

"Oh, uh, well, the forging is still going on so-"

"Forget it, we'll come back in a bit to get the damn stuff. We need to go ASAP," I might be a little harsh but I didn't care. One, this guy was scum. Two, I was nervous for Kristin and Sam. And three, this dude was scum. Fuck him.

"Are you sure? I'm pretty sure I could have it done when you get back if the two robots stay here." God, I couldn't regret coming here more. Not only does he now know about the Pods, but he could use that for blackmail!

"No."

"Fine," Jack and I stared at one another. Jane looked between us before sighing.

"I'll stay with him and the Pods. Don't worry, they'll be safe," I glared at her, opening my mouth to protest, but Jack's hand clamping on my shoulder shut me up. If he trusted his sister with the guy, then I guess I should show some measure of faith. Not in Kaleb, but in them.

"Fine, whatever. If anyone is in some way hurt, I swear to God I will hurt you worse," With one final glare we ran out of the house. I immediately felt better, but it quickly sank when I realized the situation.

Kristin and Sam were in trouble, Jane was hanging with the sketchiest guy I've ever met - his military record not even satiating my concern - and we were all criminals for forging documents for some dimension hopping androids.

Why couldn't my life stay simple? I was a programmer, dammit. I was in no way prepared for this. Jack, I could see. He took everything in stride. Jane? Yeah, she's similar to him. John probably didn't even realize the gravity of the situation - no offense to him. He was smart, he just didn't care about the reality shattering-ness of it. Kristin and I were probably the only normal ones.

We all jumped in my Tesla, the car I worked so hard for only to use it as a taxi service to the bar, before I sped off as quickly as the speed limit allowed. My friends may be in danger, but we wouldn't get there in time if I got pulled over. This was the safest and fastest option.

It took a few minutes, but luckily we hit all the green lights. The car's silence was deafening except for the radio, which was currently updating on the heist. I wasn't listening though, it would only distract me from the road.

We reached it ten minutes later and all quickly got out of the car. I put my arm in front of Beth and Anne before they could rush off, giving them a sideways look. "Don't. You'll draw attention to yourselves, and with all the police around, that would be a bad idea."

Beth sighed through her nostrils. "9S is in there. I can't stand by while he's in danger."

"I'm sure he can handle some guys with guns if it comes to it. Robots are much tougher than people, I assure you." Anne frowned as well, her eyes narrowed towards the bank.

"Why is it so quiet?" It was? I tried focusing on my hearing, but there was way too much chatter. John gave her a weird look and scratched his shoulder.

"It's pretty loud. You goin' deaf? Can androids go deaf?" He muttered the last part quietly, thankfully.

"Not out here. In there. There's nothing," Beth elaborated, her facial expression a near copy of Anne's. "No breathing, no footsteps… Nothing."

"Maybe the police got them out? Come on," I ushered us forward, walking to the police nearby. "Hello, sir? Did you get everyone out of there?"

He held his hand out, shaking his head. "Back up, the hostages are still in there. Don't y'all worry though, we called in SWAT. The guys behind this are some nasty criminals; Gangsters from Houston. Apparently they're branchin' out, which explains why they're here."

I sighed, looking over at Anne and Beth. "Guess they're not out yet."

"But…" Beth sounded confused, and looked the part, too. They must've been getting soft with all the peace going on. They probably never had this much time to themselves. I'd imagine fighting killer machines took up a hefty amount of time.

"Wait," The cop started, "What? The hostages left through the back exit? How?" We all perked up and looked over the crowd, searching anywhere for Kristin and Sam. All the hostages ran into the arms of the police, but their words managed to carry over to all of us.

"Th-This boy," An old lady practically shouted. "He saved us! H-He killed those men and led us out the back! Ple-" I blanked out, my face setting in a grim frown. Jack and I shared a look, behind us Beth and Anne doing the same.

9S managed to catch the attention of the people.

* * *

 **Hello everybody, it's ya boy Another Chapter. Yeah, posted this twice in a row because last chapter was meh. Plus Recycler and I wanted to get this caught up to EGDS chapter wise. So yeah, another chapter.**

 **Not that I'm complaining. I loved writing this chapter, it's definitely my best chapter so far in my opinion. I'll let you guys decide if it's better or not. I just know I prefer plot over aimless stuff - not that it's bad or anything, I enjoy writing stuff like that, I just like direction more. You guys tell me what you prefer more and we'll change accordingly.**

 **Though eventually plot will need to come in, so we're thinking of making a new story surrounding the simple shenanigans when it happens.**

 **Anyways, enough of my babbling. Favorite, follow, and review if you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **I bid you all adieu.**


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